"Give me my life back" the man bellowed, setting his fists down on the table. The attendee sighed from behind the desk, without taking her eyes of the parchment she was holding. "Seriously, I don't get paid enough for this. Sasha, this one's yours."
"Oh,it's a pleasure! ", a short woman with red hair and skin appeared out of nowhere, with her profesional smile and grey monotone eyes. A crimson sklie to be exact. Dodging the leaflets which were sent flying from the attendee's fax machine, she made a beeline to the haggard man towering over her senior's desk.Rows of shelves were stacked with all kinds of things, from crystals and herbs to dried newt legs and dragon scales.
The shop was very large, one might even say as large as a small town, with windows overlooking the valley below. Candle stands with lit candles were hanging from here and there, and tiny jars full of crystals, herbs and salt sealed with large stones with different colored wax drippings could be spotted at every corner of the shop.
Crystal orbs, spell books and tarot cards occupied the space next to the windows-even though the shop was brightly lit, there were parts of the shop that appeared to be shrouded in darkness , and as far as the human eye could see, it seemed to stretch down to an abysmal dungeon below.
"Welcome to Blue Raven , Sasha Everly at your service! How may I help-" "Mad. That's what it is. You all are mad." " I apologize for any inconvenience we've caused sir. You may-"
"I'VE MADE IT LOUD CLEAR. SHOW ME THE WITCH AND I'LL TEAR-"
"Now, now, no need to be so rude, if you need to see the owner of the shop you should've made an appointment-and the madame doesn't take any visitors during-"
" I'LL GIVE TIME UNTIL THE MOON HANGS LOW OVER THE RIVER OF ILLYA, TELL THE WITCH TO FIND ME THERE - IF SHE WANTS WHAT IS GOOD FOR BOTH HER AND HER SHOP."
"Very well, if it is a message you wanted to be delivered to the Lady, rest assured. We will not disappoint."
After the man had left, Sasha sighed and turned to face the reception. "Customer service, eh? Really drains the kittens and sunshine out of you first thing in the morning."-the woman behind counter sighed again.
Flashing a sad smile at the attendee, Sasha vanished into the crowd of bustling customers seeking help.
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After running the brush through her hair a couple of times, Sierra looked back at the mirror. Her snow white hair had turned to a shade of lovely dark brown. Then she proceeded to spin around on the spot, and straightened her brown- overalls which reached a bit below her knees. Tying her hair in a high ponytail she patted her white shirt beneath the overalls, and walked towards the sofa, humming softly.
Mica was sitting on one of the cushions, looking expectantly at the little girl. Sierra picked up the pup, and placed him on the table. Out of nowhere, a bowl came flying towards her as she caught it with her hands. She crouched down on the floorboard and started feeling the wood.Her hand seemed to grasp an invisible handle,and with a thud sound, it opened up, revealing a storage space beneath the floor. The little girl shivered at the sudden rush of cold wind from the half empty underground larder.
"I wonder where nanny kept her stew? Mica could use some-"
.......
"Ahem, I said I could use some of nanny's stew right now"
Sierra dived for cover as a small sealed pot flew out of the larder, and almost crashed into the table. The lid rose, floating above it as a wooden ladle started filling the bowl with the stew from the pot. Mica eyed the bowl full of boiled and scantily salted meat and vegetables, and then looked up at the girl, expecting her to feed him beef jerky from the drawer.
"I know, I know, you have to make do with that today, I'll get you something good later." Too much gravy is not good for little children, nanny used to say, and Sierra wasn't sure either if it was either meat and vegetable stew or a sophisticated cuisine depraved of spices or even a little hint of oil or water.